Od dwóch lat pełnię w Parlamencie Europejskim funkcję współprzewodniczącego grupy składającej się z europosłów z różnych opcji i z różnych krajów, która zajmuje się wspieraniem kas kredytowych. Konferencje i seminaria tej grupy z udziałem specjalistów, obowiązkowo z dwóch kontynentów (USA i Europy) odbywają się dwa razy w roku w Brukseli. Poniżej zamieszczam oficjalną wersję mojego przemówienia otwierającego jesienną konferencję, która dopiero co odbyła się w gmachu PE w stolicy Belgii:
Thank you for joining us today to discuss the „Economics of Credit Union Regulation”. Credit unions play an important role is supporting the European economy through the extension of credit, as well as offering savings products and payments services. There are more than 1 000 credit unions in 8 EU Member States with over EUR 20 billion in total assets, serving approximately 7 million physical person Europeans. Credit unions also play an important role in the economies of EU Accession States including Macedonia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The relatively recent establishment of credit unions in the Netheralands to support lending to small – and medium – sized business is a good exmple of the economic potential of credit unions to support economic growth and stability in the EU. Credit unions in other Member states such as Estonia, Ireland, Poland, Romania and the UK are a vital source of credit union to millions physical person consumers, many of who are underserved by European banks.
Today's discussion of the political economy of credit union regulation, and how it affects ordinary European consumers and SMEs by through access to credit, touches on the one of the key issues facing the EU today: How to strike the right balance in financial regulation so that our economies are not only stable, but also achieve fair and equitable economic growth.
Credit unions face significant compliance burdens stemming from both EU-level and national – level regulations. While it is important to maintain safe and sound regulations for all financial institution, there is much more that credit unions can do to support Europe's economy.
Today's discussion can be the starting point for a deeper reflection on how best to promote growth in Europe through regulatory reforms that unlock the full potential of credit unions and improves the lives of their members. As cooperative deposit-taking institutions that are owned by their customers, credit unions are the perfect financial institution for promoting fair and equitable economic growth for ordinary people.
